making November warm #2
From my childhood, I have considered November ‘the bleak month.’ The days are cold, without the mollifying effect of snow. Trees have lost their leaves and leaves on the ground have lost their colour. Days are short and nights are long. Christmas seems so far away.
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As an adult, I have battled ‘bleak November’ in various ways. #1 is to spend time with family and friends. #2 is to turn my creative impulses to sewing and making quilts, always a warming activity.
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I am not an expert seamstress by any definition. My stitches are long and uneven and my quilts are usually too short, rarely reaching from head to toe. But I love fabric designs and colours, and I love the feel of various fabrics.
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One of the quilts I grew up with was a butterfly quilt, made by my maternal grandmother. Somehow I acquired a couple of extra butterfly blocks she made. Perhaps she was intending to make another butterfly quilt. Her stitches are small and even, the envy of any serious quilter. The blocks are at least 65 years old, probably more.
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When I was going to yard sales regularly, I happened across three more butterfly panels and some cut-out butterflies, ready for the needle. Two of these blocks were not as well executed as those of my grandmother; one was very well done and quite charming (see the yellow block, below). Together they suggested a finished quilt.
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This fall I have finished appliquéing the cut-out butterflies to a top for the quilt. Rather than prepare blocks, I scattered them across a background of tiny blue flowers. Side by side, my appliquéd butterfly and one of my grandmother’s show you what a poor seamstress I really am.
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However, I finished the quilt top and in the first week of November, I have added the batt and lower side of the quilt. Last night I finished binding the quilt.
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I often make my quilts for someone I know or for a particular room in my house. This quilt is for me. I will use it all winter to keep the chills away and make my corner of the couch a little cosier. Be gone, ‘bleak November!’
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All my best wishes
for a cosy winter,
Jane
making November warm #1
Before Covid-19 took over our lives, I have warm memories of book launches: people gathering and chatting, taking a chair in the bookstore, listening for the starting lines of a reading. A chance to get a copy signed by the author. Sometimes treats, cake and fruit punch and more talk.
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My fellow writer, Neil Sampson, and I have decided to try for this feeling again. We will be reading from out newest books at Westminster Books on this Saturday, November 12, at 2:00. Neil will read from his book ‘Lanterns on the Nashwaak’ and I will read from ‘Stained Glass,’ the fourth book in the Kaye Eliot Mystery Series. This book launch will be accompanied by cookies and drinks.
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‘Stained Glass’ tells the story of how the Eliot family hunts down a series of stained glass windows. Together, the windows tell the story of four friends in the 1950s and their picnic on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The picnic ends tragically, and the windows will tell who committed a terrible crime.
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Hope to see you at the book launch!
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All my best,
Jane Tims
Book Review: ‘Eyes of a Stalker’ (by Valerie Sherrard)
It’s been a while since I read a book meant for a young adult audience. But the title intrigued me and I was in the mood for some less time-consuming reading.
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‘Eyes of a Stalker’ is a “A Shelby Belgarden Mystery” by Valerie Sherrard (Dundum, 2006). Shelby is an engaging Grade Eleven student. Her close relationship with her Mom and Dad, her compassion for an elderly neighbour and her feelings for her boyfriend, Greg, took me back to the years of High School.
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When Shelby decides to round out her school year with some activities in drama and creative writing, she never expects her new interests to lead to the unwanted attentions of a stalker. The story is fast-paced and engaging—you will be kept guessing the identity of the stalker. Her family takes steps to protect her, but the author keeps the tension chapter after chapter. Then, when the stalker seems to be winning, you will work with Shelby to try and find a way out of the predicament she is in.
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I will definitely be reading the other books in the “Shelby Belgarden Mystery Series.” Many thanks to the author who writes these books!
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All my best!!!!
Happy reading!!!
Jane Tims
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Book Launch! Adventure on another planet!
On Saturday, September 17, from 11:00 to 4:00, I will be at Dog Eared Books in Oromocto to launch the next book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series — Meniscus: The Struggle.
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This book is number 11 in the series and features brave humans, aliens (both endearing and nasty), and strange worlds to explore. I will be there to talk about alien abductions and alien worlds, my illustrations, alien genetics and other books in the series. And you’ll have a chance to explore Dog Eared Books, its huge selection of second hand books, books by local authors and unusual gift items.
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If you love adventure, science fiction and a touch of romance, you will enjoy this series. Join Abra as she and her friends try to understand the alien Dock-winder language and find some secret to overthrow the evil overlords.
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In the book. and the Series, you will find some interesting characters: Drag-on, the Hooplore (looks like a lump of wet spaghetti); Don’est, the Dock-winder child (consistently annoying); Nate, the evernell (his whiskers explode when he is afraid); the Gel-heads (green and slimy); and the Dock-winders (aloof and autocratic).
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I will have a life-sized Dock-winder and Gel-head with me. You have to see them to believe
them.
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Hope to see YOU there!
All my best!
Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)
awash in wild flowers!!!!!
I just got a lovely gift for myself, ‘New Brunswick Wild Flowers,’ a colouring book produced by the Connell Memorial Herbarium at the University of New Brunswick. Created by Elizabeth Mills in 2021, this is a book to take you on an expedition throughout the province, month by month, season by season.
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Edited by Friends of the Herbarium, each page presents a wildflower in black and white, a brief description, and a small photo to help get the colours just right! The plants are presented by name as well, including names in English, French, Wolastoqiyik, Mi’kmaq and Latin.
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If you’d like a book of your own, just click here, and order one from Blurb.ca
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a flower just now in bloom
by the covered bridge
in Rusagonis!
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All my best as you hunt for wild flowers!!!
Jane
new book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series available today!
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The next book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series is out today in paperback! The e-book will be available within the week.
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Meniscus: The Struggle continues the story of Abra who is trying to decipher a mysterious Dock-winder document. Abra believes the information in the manuscript will enable Humans to overcome their nasty alien overlords. Abra continues her work with the help of old friends from Themble Hill: Odymn, Tagret, Zachary and, yes, the annoying Dock-winder child, Don’est. And we learn more about her new friend, Drag’on of the Hooplore, who will be at her side through the adventure.
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Meniscus: The Struggle is available in paperback form at Amazon today (just click here). And I will have copies by the end of August. I will be launching the book at Dog-Eared Books in Oromocto: just watch for announcements. Dog-Eared Books and Westminster Books in Fredericton have copies of other books in the Series if you’d like to catch up. Book One (Crossing The Churn), Book Six (Oral Traditions) and Book Ten (Rosetta Stone) are good places to dive in to the story.
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Read on!
All my best!
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
another book, another cover
True to my mantra of having multiple projects on the go at one time, I have been quietly working on a new book, of the genealogical variety. The book, titled Ella: 1859-1933, is an historical account of my great-grandmother’s life, revealed through family stories, Census and City Directory records, military and other official government records, and study of other genealogical sources (I have blogged before about my great-grandmother https://janetims.com/?s=Ella+Norman+). Much of the information is the result of study by Dr. Jane Margaret Norman, my aunt, who began looking for evidence of Ella’s life in the 1970s and found out most of the known information on Ella’s life. The book will be of interest to Ella’s descendants and others in the Hawk and Kresge lineage.
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A Brief Synopsis of the Book:
Ella Hawk (her maternal grandfather was a Kresge) was born in 1859 to a Pennsylvania German family. When she became an adult, she followed the path of many who felt the lure of the West. By 1880, she lived in Laramie, Wyoming where, in 1886, she met and married Frank Norman. She had one son, Leo, and lived in the West for another 24 years. In 1911, she returned to Pennsylvania to live with her mother and sister. Her son served in the navy and eventually met and married Katie Clark, a trained nurse. In 1927, Katie returned to Canada to raise her young family. Katie and Leo were my grandmother and grandfather.
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The book includes a detailed presentation of these events, as well as the genealogical references. I will also include three poems as a memorial to Ella’s family and the account of a trip we took to Wyoming to see where Ella and Frank were married.
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Book Cover:
I include two references to flowers in the book, to red poppies, and pink and blue columbines. So I decided early to include these flowers on the cover of the book. I also wanted to show Ella on the cover but as a silhouette, walking in the garden. I know, from my Uncle Francis’ memories, she wore wide-brimmed hats, so the figure will be wearing such a hat.
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At first, I painted apple trees in the background, but the symbolism of the trees escaped me. So I removed the trees and added a scene from the Laramie area, featuring the nearby mountains (the Snowy Range), and a suggestion of foothills and plain. Now the silhouette of ‘Ella’ looks from her garden in the East towards the West. My uncle (her grandson) told me she never forgot the West and wished to return some day.
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I completed the basic elements of the cover painting in one sitting. But a lot was left to be done: layers of colour to be added and detail in the mountains and flowers. My main objective was to add colour in such a way to make the poppies appear far away and the columbines close by.
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Colour will do this. In general, cool colours (like red) look far away and warm colours (like blue) appear nearby. This generality is modified by the tone (darkness or lightness) of the colour: dark colours appear to get closer while pale colours appear to recede. Saturation of colour will also affect its appearance of advancing or receding: a pure colour will appear nearer; adding a bit of another colour will cause it to recede.
for more information on colour in art, see How Colors Advance and Recede in Art Science of Colour.
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I will revisit the cover design in about a week, and perhaps tweak the border colour and other aspects. let me know what you think.
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All my best!!!!
Jane
A botanical life list first
Today, we drove to St. Stephen from our home near Fredericton (New Brunswick). We traveled some back roads, getting some great glimpses of the St, Croix River. The St. Croix is an international waterway, so when we look across the river, we see the United States.
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Along one stream in the drainage, we found a beyond-bright red flower I knew right away but have never seen except in photos.
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The cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) was one of the first flowers I read about when I moved to New Brunswick, but this is the first time I have seen it in bloom.
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The red colour is so bright against the darker colours of the water and leaves. The plant is pollinated by hummingbirds.
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In New Brunswick, the cardinal flower grows in wet areas, along shores and on rocky islands in streams.
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The plant is about a half-metre or more in height and bears its flowers in terminal spikes. The flower has three spreading lower petals and two upper petals; all are united into a tube at the base. The stem is erect with pointed elliptical leaves.
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Like birders, most botanists keep track of the plants they know and have seen in the field. I am delighted to add this to my list of known plants!
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Have a great day! Stay cool!
Jane
A Book Club: a new experience for me
I love to read. For years I have considered joining a book club. To meet with like-minded people, to delve deep into the elements of a book, to experience a new way of considering the merits of a book – these all seemed to be good reasons for participating in a gathering dedicated to reading of a book.
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This past week, I had my chance. Our new local book store, Dog Eared Books, in Oromocto, has organized a book club event featuring a book by my friend and admired author Alexa Bowie. The book — Death Between the Walls.
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I have read the book before, about a year ago, but I wanted to be knowledgeable, so I re-read the book the day of the meeting. So enjoyable to dedicate a whole day to reading!!!! Not a hard book to read in one sitting since it is engaging and hard to put down. I love the main character and her ‘relationship’ with her long-dead father. I also like the setting, in New Brunswick, in the area of Miramichi.
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I read a little, on-line, about what to expect at an author-led book club. The best questions to get discussion going abound on the web. See https://wondermomwannabe.com/book-club-questions/ for 50 Great Book Club Questions for a Meaningful Discussion.
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A simple way to approach a book club discussion is in terms of the 5 Ws: Who, What, Where, When and Why; add to this, How. In terms of the book: characters, subject matter, setting, year and season, motivation, and means. Each of these categories can be broken down into positives and negatives; for example, which character do you like/dislike the most. As a writer, I am also interested in how the story and plot unfold.
Story and plot may seem similar but:
- story is the who, what and where
- plot is the when, why and how.
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How it went:
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Eight people met at Dog Eared Books. Lots of room, iced tea and baked goodies. Introductions, all around. The discussion was fun, informal. The author is a great facilitator and everyone got a chance to talk.
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We learned a lot about the writing process, what idea leads to telling a story and how subsequent ideas get incorporated. The author told us about the two main approaches to writing: plotting and pants-ing. The first can be very prescriptive and involves lots of planning and characterization. The second is ‘by the seat of the pants,’ following the whims of the characters and the dictations of the setting. Death Between the Walls was mostly written using this second method.
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The group ended with a book-signing and a promise to get together again, once a month on a Friday evening at 6:30. We will keep in touch using a Facebook group and vote to select a new book from one of the genres.
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I’ll let you know how it goes.
All my best,
Jane
Meniscus Science Fiction Series: the extras
As I write the Meniscus Science Fiction Series, a very enjoyable task is to update the extras in each book:
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Ancient Argenop Wisdom: every book includes an associated line of ancient Argenop wisdom. The Argenops are the gentle rodent-like aliens who befriend the Humans. They became separated from the Dock-winders, in history and sentiment, when geology (The Fault) divided En’ast from Themble. I plan to do a full book collecting the wisdom of the ancient Argenops.
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The Meniscus Solar System: This is a fairly recent edition to the books. A representation of the solar system of Meniscus includes: the two suns (Tathlet and Amblyn), the planets (Aagle, Meniscus, Di-natha and Sel), and the Meniscus moons (Cardoth roe and Cardoth grill-en).
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This is Meniscus, a planet far from Earth: this is an introductory bit, meant to introduce readers of every book to some background information about the planet Meniscus. The text includes the odd behavior of water on the planet, a description of the landscape, the various aliens encountered, and a short history of the Slain. Oddly, this is the section I have occasionally forgotten to include in every book.
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The Maps: Producing the maps of the planet Meniscus is essential to the writing since the stories are chronicles of the Human travels through the landscape. I produce the maps in GIMP, so I am able to highlight certain features of interest to a particular book. I also include a dotted line showing the path of the travels of the main characters. At first, only the east and west maps for Prell-nan South District were shown. As the adventure expanded, maps for east and west halves of Prell-nan North District were included. In the upcoming adventure Meniscus: The Reckoning, readers will see El’ban District, often mentioned in the earlier books.
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North District
(West Half)
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The Cast of Characters: I include all of the characters in the Series, whether they occur in the current book or not. The notes on the characters are meant to explore a brief history of each character: Human, Slain, Argenop, Dock-winder, Gel-head, and Others, including the pets. This section was added to books after …. at the suggestion of one of my terrific beta-readers.
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Glossary: Various unfamiliar words used by Humans in the story are explained here. They include measurements, names of plant and animal life, and items found on the planet of Meniscus. Some of these are names borrowed from the local aliens, and others are names the Humans have devised for various items, based on their experience on Earth or with other Humans.
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nodding woodland flower
corms edible
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A Condensed Guide to Gel-speak: The dictionary, at first short, has grown with each book – there are now 180 words in the Gel-speak dictionary. Although most Gel-speak is translated right in the text, readers may like to find out how an idea is expressed in Gel-speak as the translation is not literal. So ‘genetic material’ is translated as ath-elan-elana, literally ‘body memory.’
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The next book in the Series, Meniscus: The Struggle will be released in the next couple of weeks. I am looking forward to having a release and book signing in August, details to be announced here.
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If you haven’t read any of the Meniscus books, there are a couple of places to jump in to the action:
Meniscus: Oral Traditions
Meniscus: Rosetta Stone
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All my best,
keep reading!
Alexandra, a.k.a. Jane
nichepoetryandprose 